Catherine the Great in the Eyes of Many Historians and Scholars of Russian History - Case Study Example

Catherine the Great, in the eyes of many historians and scholars of Russian history, deserves the epithet attached to her “Greatness” it may besaid is a defining quality of her reign over the Russian state during her patronage. Her rule became defined by foreign and domestic expansions that proved to be instrumental for the advancement of Russian nationalist interests. Catherine effectively carried out the process of modernizing and culturally integrating the vast Russian state into the European cultural advancement occurring in this period: a period frequently referred to as the Enlightenment. Because of Catherine’s relationships with great thinkers in this period, and because of her love for culture and arts, Russia immersed itself in progress toward European ideals. As a result, Russia distanced itself from the Asian continent and embraced the Western tradition in its philosophy, literature, and other areas of thought. Needless to say, this integration made an ever-lasting impact on the future of the state as it has evolved to the modern day. Thus, Catherine’s influence cannot be understated in the context of her decisions as empress of Russia, including her expansion of the country’s borders. With all of this in mind, we cannot dismiss Catherine for any reason, and acknowledge her instrumentality to the growth of Russia as one nation: without her rule, the Russian state would not have participated as forcefully in the Enlightenment or made the advances in art and culture that it did during the 18th century. As with all of history, it is important to contextualize Catherine’s life in a chronological manner. Catherine was born to a German prince in Prussia in 1729, and moved to Russia in 1744. Because of her status, in 1745 she married Grand Duke Peter, an heir to the Russian throne as the grandson of Peter the Great. Catherine transitioned nicely into the Russian culture of which she was now firmly a part. She converted from the Lutheran faith to Russian Orthodoxy, and learned the nature of Russian politics, including the court intrigues that were more than common during this era. When the Empress Elizabeth died in 1762, Catherine’s husband became Emperor Peter the Third. However, Peter’s unstable personality left him unable to form proper political relationships. Peter antagonized military leaders, other politicians, the Church, and the court. Shortly after becoming the Emperor, Peter was deposed by the imperial guard, aided by his wife Catherine. Consequently, Catherine became the Empress of Russia and would rule the Russian state for 34 years, until 1796 (Sherman and Salisbury 2003). When Catherine assumed power of Russia, the nation was experiencing the nationalist greatness that Peter the Great had brought to the country. Under Peter’s reign, Russia had become the largest state in the world, nearly three times as large as continental Europe. The 18th century, in particular, was time of military might, expansion into new territories, and internal development. The greatest thing Catherine could have done, and for this she shares the epithet “Great” with Peter the Great, is maintain the efforts of her predecessors in ruling and carrying out the expansion of the Russian empire. For instance, she moved to launch a successful campaign against the dying Ottoman Empire, expanding the southern border to the Black Sea (parallel 60 2007). This continuation of the momentum of previous rulers’ efforts comes in contrast to what is commonly seen in transitions between imperial rulers, where successors try their hardest to stamp their own legacies on the histories of great powers. As a result, their states suffer because of their unwillingness to continue the work of their predecessors. However, Catherine cleverly kept Russia on the same path as the one Peter the Great started marching upon, knowing that the efforts of Peter to make Russia a grand world power one day would take time and patience. Her foresight made her instrumental for the march toward progress that many scholars ascribe to her reign as Empress. As with any political situation, we may effectively divide policies between “foreign” and “domestic”. Catherine’s accomplishments on the foreign policy side of her reign at times overshadow her domestic plans. However, the importance of her contributions to the expansion of Russia’s borders and the relationships she established with other nations should not be ignored. Her militaries absorbed areas of modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Latvia, and giving Russia its modern look. Catherine completed Peter the Great’s conquests into the Black Sea after making their southeastern European foothold. Because of these triumphs, the cities of Odessa, Nikolayev, and Yekaterinoslav developed into large trading stations. In addition to southern growth, Catherine’s diplomacy proved quite effective throughout her reign. She took part in partitioning Poland, opened trade with Japan, and even mediated for the War of the Bavarian Succession between the parties of Prussia and Austria. These actions helped cement Russia’s relevancy on the international stage (Dixon 2001). Unlike Peter the Great, Catherine was an intellectual involved with the Age of Enlightenment. On the domestic front, Catherine did much to advance art and culture within Russia because of her involvement with the Enlightenment movement pervading through much of Western Europe. For instance, Catherine communicated with the French writer and satirist Voltaire from her ascension to 1778. In 1766, Catherine tried to bring together Enlightenment principles and Russian politics by legislating based on the philosophies of thinkers like Montesquieu and Cesare Beccaria (Halsall 1997). Unfortunately, these principles never made it into concrete legislation, since many of these principles were rather radical for the age. The Legislative Commission in 1767 assigned to codify these liberal laws received a document outlining Catherine’s ideal government, including its laws, education system, and social structure. Although it included monocracy, the autocratic ruler was justified on utilitarian arguments instead of divine grounds. Although the Commission failed, the integration of the Enlightenment into Russian cultural and social life continued with the importation and study of Russian writers inspired by the Enlightenment. Her commitment to The Spirit of Laws by Montesquieu illuminated her thought that a wise ruler must use reason over passion to ensure the welfare of his or her subjects and to reinforce their autocratic government. Her involvement in the Enlightenment left an effect on the religious landscape of Russia as well, including her personal indifference to religion (Kaufman 2002). More often than not, Catherine used religion as a political tool than as a source of faith or hope. For instance, in the campaign against the Ottoman Empire, she roused anti-Islam sentiments. Because of the size and scope of her Empire, Catherine recognized the need and applicability of secularism, an important part of Enlightenment thinking that gave rise to European opposition to religious impositions, hoping to appeal to local Islamic, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant populations. Arguably, Catherine the Great fostered the so-called “Russian Enlightenment”, referring to a period in 18th century Russia: a period during which scientists and artists were encouraged to contribute to Russian culture. A large piece of the Russian Enlightenment involved commentary on the long- standing institutions of serfdom and Slavophile traditions. Derived from the French Enlightenment in which Catherine was so involved intellectually, its Russian counterpart flourished with changes to the blossoming Russian theater, including opera and the public concert. Catherine’s efforts at making education more accessible to the public may be viewed as a move toward a more knowledgeable populace (Aileen 2004). The Russian Enlightenment, however, ultimately had the effect of raising questions about old traditions and institutions, which would spur further growth later on, even past the death of Catherine. It was instrumental for the Russian state to becoming a modernized and westernized part of the world. The reign of Catherine had a lasting impact on Russia, both during her life and after her death. At the end of her time, Russia had become a true world superpower, different from the other European nations in both its size and power to impose its interests. Moreover, unlike other European countries, Russia retained its tradition of serfdom. Therefore, although Russia was advanced in culture and arts like its Western European counterparts nearing the end of the 18th century, as the world moved into the 19th century, the Russian state began to lag behind its neighbors. A lack of colonial presence abroad and a lack of participation in the Industrial Revolution left Russia lagging behind the progress of its neighbors. This may be attributed to the quality of Russia’s leadership after the death of Catherine, and to the wars Russia found itself fighting at the time. The chaos that would follow the days of Orthodoxy and nationalism that Catherine promoted left Russia as a breeding ground for political philosophies far more radical than the Enlightenment principles offered by Catherine’s intellectualism. Eventually, the difference between Russia and other European countries at this time would be as stark as the difference between progress and stagnation. Catherine the Great was instrumental in Russia’s cultural and political advancement near the end of the 18th century, and for the westernization (or modernization) of the Russian state. In the context of her rule, Catherine’s influence cannot be understated for bestowing temporary greatness on Russia. She recognized the need to continue the efforts of her predecessors in bringing about foreign and domestic development for the future of Russia, doing so forcefully and with great effectiveness. Because of Catherine, Russia became more European than Asian, which proved to be monumental for the nation’s future. Bibliography Aileen, Kelly. "Russian philosophy." In Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, by E. Craig, http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/E042. London: Routledge, 2004. Dixon, Simon. Catherine the Great. New York: Longman, 2001. Halsall, Paul. Modern History Sourcebook: Catherine the Great. August 1997. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/18catherine.html (accessed September 2009). Kaufman, I. "Russian and British Intellectuals of Enlightenment." St. Petersburg Center for the History of Ideas. 2002. http://ideashistory.org.ru/pdfs/05kau.pdf (accessed 2009). parallel 60. History of Russia. July 23, 2007. http://www.parallelsixty.com/history-russia.shtml (accessed September 14, 2009). Sherman, Dennis, and Joyce Salisbury. The West in the World. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Read More